Sensex up 178pts; Sterlite surges 6%

The Sensex is now up 178 points at 15,251.

The NSE Nifty is up 51 points at 4,569.

Sterlite has soared nearly 6% to Rs 622. Tata Motors has surged 4.3% to Rs 445.

HDFC has rallied 4% to Rs 2,492. Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Infrastructure have gained 3.5% each at Rs 582 and Rs 1,047, respectively.

HDFC Bank and NTPC have advanced over 3% each to Rs 1,256 and Rs 186, respectively.

Grasim has moved up 2.8% to Rs 2,095. ONGC and Maruti have added 2.5% each to Rs 1,041 and Rs 668, respectively.

Jaiprakash Associates, DLF and Satyam are up around 2% each at Rs 189, Rs 557 and Rs 416, respectively.

Bharti Airtel has slipped 2% to Rs 852. Ranbaxy is down over 1% at Rs 507.

Out of 2,677 stocks traded so far, 1,556 have advanced, 1,042 have declined and 79 are unchanged.